JOURNEY OVER DESTINATION

 
DR. ANITA SHARMA

 

Age: 38 years

Location: Jaipur, India

Medical condition: Polio

Her story: Anita was just 6 months old when she suffered a polio attack. The brakes of disability didn’t slow down the pursuit of her ambitions. She started a driving school ‘On My Own’ to help other people with disabilities experience the same freedom. She also holds a Ph.D. from IIM, Indore in Disability and Entrepreneurship.

Her struggle: It took 9 surgeries for her to be able to walk with the support of crutches and callipers. Given the state of public transportation services in the country for the differently-abled, Anita wanted to learn driving to be able to travel with dignity. However, none of the thousands of driving schools she contacted were willing to teach her as they were not qualified to teach the differently-abled. She had to eventually learn driving from her mother.

Her first step towards making a difference: Having faced so much trouble herself finding a driving school, Anita realized there might be more people like her who can be in need. With this noble thought in mind she started a driving school ‘On My Own’ in April 2018 to teach driving to the differently-abled.

Her contribution to the society: Through ‘On My Own’ Anita has helped 52 differently-abled people learn driving. Along with driving lessons, Anita also works on building the self-confidence of her students and spreading positivity in their lives. She also runs ‘On My Own Home Stay’ which is a hostel facility for her students living at a distance to stay and complete their training.